Intel CEO Resigns After Board Learns of His Relationship With Employee

Share

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) announced Thursday that CEO Brian Krzanich has resigned in the wake of the company’s recent discovery that he had been involved in a past consensual relationship with an Intel employee.

The relationship violated Intel’s non-fraternization policy—the finding of an ongoing investigation by internal and external counsel, the company said in a written statement.

“Given the expectation that all employees will respect Intel’s values and adhere to the company’s code of conduct, the Board has accepted Mr. Krzanich’s resignation,” the statement read.

Intel’s board has appointed the company’s chief financial officer, Robert Swan, as interim CEO. The board has begun a search for a permanent replacement for Krzanich, and will consider candidates outside as well as inside the company.

Intel Chairman Andy Bryant said, “We appreciate Brian’s many contributions to Intel,” while voicing confidence in his temporary replacement: “The Board believes strongly in Intel’s strategy and we are confident in Bob Swan’s ability to lead the company as we conduct a robust search for our next CEO. Bob has been instrumental to the development and execution of Intel’s strategy, and we know the company will continue to smoothly execute.”

The swift change of management at the venerable Silicon Valley chip company came without disclosure of key details about Krzanich’s relationship, including the time period when it took place. Intel didn’t identify the employee involved, or specify whether that person still works at the company. Krzanich (pictured above) joined Santa Clara, CA-based Intel in 1982 and had been CEO for five years, the New York Times reported.

Under Krzanich, Intel has been expanding its core business areas, from its traditional role as chipmaker for PCs and servers to a developer of data-centric businesses that offer services based on the huge caches of information now being collected by smartphones, mobile devices, connected cars, and other mechanisms. The company made a major push into the autonomous driving field in 2017 with the acquisition of Mobileye for more than $15 billion.

Photo Courtesy of Intel, Intel Capital

Bernadette Tansey is Xconomy's San Francisco Editor. You can reach her at btansey@xconomy.com. Follow @Tansey_Xconomy